the truth about forever
by manic pixie nightmare girl
Summary: Druella and Walburga weren't made to last, but that didn't stop them from trying.


**Quidditch League **

**Cannons, Seeker (reserve): write about a romance that's doomed to fail **

**Thanks to Jane for betaing**

**Warning for homophobia **

* * *

Walburga's fingers moved gracefully along the ivory piano keys, creating the most beautiful music Druella ever heard. All she could do was stand in the doorway, watching and listening. Why was it so enchanting? Try as she might, Druella could not look away.

The music slowed before ending abruptly. Walburga glanced over her shoulder, storm cloud-grey eyes narrowing slightly. "If you're looking for Cygnus," she said, turning her attention back to the piano before positioning her slender fingers over the keys once more, "he is most likely with Father. I wouldn't disturb them."

Druella winced. She tried to forget about her father's arrangement and the day when she will have no choice but to marry Cygnus Black. All in all, it wasn't the worst fate for her to endure, but it was still one she did not want.

She dreamed of being a Black. Most nights, she saw grey eyes and dark hair whenever she closed her eyes, but it was never Cygnus' face she saw. Walburga visited her dreams most nights.

Druella knew it was wrong. She was a Rosier, and that meant following tradition and adhering to rules. Love was meaningless when reputation and honor meant everything. Falling in love with another woman would be a terrible shame; her family would not survive such a scandal.

And yet, she couldn't take her eyes off Walburga. Everything about the other girl drew her in and enchanted her. It made her chest ache.

"Are you ill?" Walburga asked, rising from the bench and hurrying over. She rested her hand on Druella's arm. "You look a bit flushed."

The touch only made it worse. Druella could feel her cheeks darken as a fire seemed to burn beneath her pale skin. This wasn't a dream; this was the waking world, and Walburga's touch was so painfully real. Unable to resist, Druella lifted her hand, placing it over Walburga's.

There was something so wrong about this, but Druella didn't care. She could feel the connection, and something in Walburga's eyes told her she felt it too.

"You?" Walburga asked, using her free hand to gesture vaguely.

Druella understood the question and nodded. "Me," she confirmed.

Silence fell, and it was maddening. It could be a test, she realized, and her stomach twisted within her body, forming knots. Cygnus could have asked his sister to do this. Everyone was going to find out the truth about Druella, and then the Rosier family will be just as disgraced as the Weasleys.

Walburga took a step closer, then another. There was nothing to separate them except for their dresses. Druella's heart raced.

"We really shouldn't," Walburga murmured, though the sparkle in her eyes said she didn't particularly care what they should and shouldn't do.

Their lips met, and there were no more doubts in Druella's mind. Those were the lips she wanted to kiss forever. And, as they pulled apart, both blushing and grinning with the weight of what they had done, Druella almost believed they could find a way to make eternity more than just a dream.

**X**

It was easy to fall into a routine with Walburga. As far as anyone knew, they were just two close friends. Even Mrs. Black commented on how lovely it was that Walburga was finally making friends–"She's so abrasive. Nothing like you, Druella, dear. Perhaps you will be a good influence on her."–and no one suspected a thing.

"How long do you think this will last?" Walburga asked as Druella rested her head in her lap.

She closed her eyes, shivering as her girlfriend's fingers stroked her pale blonde hair.

"Dru?"

Druella didn't want to answer because she knew the truth. This was the worst sort of scandal their families could face. It didn't matter that they talked about running away and finding a little home in Paris; she knew that dreams were not enough to make it last. Neither knew the first thing about living on their own, and they would be left without a Knut to their names once their families learned the truth.

Still, she looked up, smiling as she reached out and grazed the tips of her fingers over Walburga's porcelain skin. A delicate pink, soft and lovely as freshly-picked roses, crept into the other girl's cheeks. Druella loved that she could have that effect on Walburga. As long as she could remember, Walburga was so above the rest, all haughty eyes and cunning smiles. No one else could make her so human, and it made Druella love her even more.

"Forever," Druella answered, because she was too lost in blissful hope and silly naivete. There was no alternative. It was going to be her and Walburga until the end of time. "A love like ours can only last forever."

That seemed to be enough to satisfy Walburga. She craned her neck, kissing a trail slowly from Druella's cheekbone down to her lips.

They would find a way. She didn't know how, and there was no denying the feeling of hopelessness whenever she thought about the future, but she wanted forever more than anything else.

**X**

Some days she wondered if she could find a way to spend forever by her lover's side.

They hid in the garden, safely tucked away behind bushes that boasted fragrant white flowers. Druella plucked the delicate blossoms from among the waxy leaves and tucked them into Walburga's braid.

"If you keep that up," Walburga warned, eyes narrowing playfully as she grinned, "they might actually find me a husband."

"How dreadful." Druella shuddered, exaggerating it to emphasize her horror at the thought. "What would I do then?"

"The same thing I'll do when you've wed my brother."

Druella wanted to be immune to those words, but they felt like a knife in her heart. Her lips quivered as she tried to smile, but it felt forced and stiff, and she wouldn't have been surprised if Walburga saw right through it. "We'll figure it out," she said.

And she truly believed they would.

**X**

Half a year into her illicit romance, Druella learned to hate her future husband.

The castle offered them more privacy, and Druella loved it. There was something exhilarating about the scandal of it; in the back of her mind, she knew how dangerous it was. She knew how easily they could get caught, but she didn't care.

"I've been thinking," Druella said softly as they sat together in the darkness of the empty classroom. No one would think to look for them there; it, along with other empty areas throughout the school, had become their safe haven since returning to Hogwarts. "We could do it. We could run."

Walburga laughed and shook her head, her dark curls thumping against her face. Despite the laughter, there was no humor in her expression. Her eyes were tired, and Druella knew Walburga accepted that they were never meant to last. "Forever is such a pretty word," she said. "It paints a lovely picture, doesn't it?"

It did. She could so clearly see it in her head. They would run away to Paris and find a cozy home. Walburga would play piano in local pubs, and Druella would find work as a Healer. It _was _possible, even if it was hard to believe in.

"You and me," Druella whispered, closing the distance between them and tangling her fingers in those curls she loved so much. Their lips met, and she prayed Walburga could taste the promise on her tongue and feel the desperation in her racing heartbeat. "Forever."

"Forever," Walburga agreed.

"Forever?" came a third, mocking voice, and Druella pulled away and turned to find Cygnus standing in the doorway. His thin lips curled in disgust, and the shadows on his angular face made him look almost terrifying as he closed the door behind him and stepped forward. "I had my suspicions. Well, Abraxas did. I didn't want to believe my sister would be something so… so disgusting."

The final word came out with such force that Walburga recoiled like her brother had physically struck her. Druella held Walburga's hand, but her girlfriend pulled away, whimpering.

"Cygnus," Walburga whispered.

He huffed, dark brows raising. "What gives you the right to say my name?" he asked. "You are no better than a filthy Mudblood. And you!" He stalked closer, smirking at Druella. His warm, sour breath washed over her face, and it took everything in her not to double over and gag. "You are meant to belong to _me_. I know the Rosiers are primitive simpletons, but I would have assumed your father had the sense to teach you what is expected of you."

Druella didn't back down. She straightened her posture and looked him in the eye. "Why would I ever want to marry someone like you?"

"Because it is your _duty_!" He gripped her wrist, and she knew there would be bruises in his wake. "Because if you don't, if you ever so much as look at my sister again, I will make sure she is punished most severely for _your _transgressions. Have I made myself clear?"

Druella's gaze flickered to Walburga. She had never seen anyone reduce her beloved to tears like this before, and she suspected Cygnus could make good on his threats. She wanted nothing more than to hold Walburga and promise her forever, but she knew there was no point.

They were never meant to last. It was time for her to stop pretending and finally accept it.

Her attention returned to Cygnus. "Crystal," she said.

**X**

When she walked down the aisle, she couldn't help it. She found Walburga in the crowd, sitting dutifully by Orion's side. They had their parts to play, and there was no way out.

"Forever," Cygnus taunted, sneering as Druella came to a stop in front of him.

She didn't bother to respond. He was not her forever.

**X**

Walburga was never the same. Druella watched the decline, and her heart broke a little more. She became wicked and cruel until she was a female Cygnus.

She was so quick to condemn anyone who didn't fit into the mold of what the Black family was meant to be. _Mudblood and blood traitor _always seemed heavy and on the tip of her tongue, waiting for her to give voice to her hatred.

And as Walburga became more and more twisted and unrecognizable, Druella wondered if she remembered the days when they had been in love. When they were younger, they were exactly what Walburga hated now.

"Forever," Druella said bitterly, watching as Walburga and Orion lead their sons through Diagon Alley.

Forever meant nothing in the end.


End file.
